Scottish Civil War
Background Following the First Coalition War, the world enter a period of relative peace, with only minor outbreaks of violence. The defeated alliance kept activity high, with the Men of the North rebuilding their war material stocks and the revisionist Etat De l'Or moving from Emeral Island to their new eastern base know as the Palais des Lumieres. On the other side, the Dwarven Empire returned to their underground halls, digging up new sections of Solgrundir, barely coming out to meddle into external affairs. Meanwhile, the Order of Dalmaitus, had achieved a very advantageous peace, not only in monetary terms, but in prestige; the Order's umbrella now covered an array of small and middle sized factions, amongst these factions was its ally Scotland. Scotland, as part of the minor powers that joined the First Coalition got their desired vengeance from Etat De l'Or. Now left in peace, the inner politics of the faction started to disintegrate. Having been formed primarily from a Mount and Blade regiment, Scotland had a core of players that knew each other very well. This advantage would, however, led to difficulties regarding who should be the faction's leader, as the regiment's officials felt they should have the faction's leadership and not HurryinGun, who had lead them to the server in the first place. Secession of Bridgend and Albion In early May 2012, a part of Scotland seceded and set up camp south of Edinburgh, quickly building a makeshift fort and gathering supplies, these would be lead by the Count of Bridgend (one of the regiment's officers). Shortly after, conflict arose as Scotland demanded several stocks of goods to be returned from Bridgend, so war was declared. By this point, another group left Scotland under the guidance of the Duke of Albion (Another of the regiment's officers), however, initially they kept cordial relations with its mother nation. Order of Dalmaitus' Intervention By this point, the Order of Dalmaitus, having heard of its ally's political colapse, decided to intervene on behalf of Scotland's King seeking to retreive the stolen goods from Bridgend. The Order, sought to compel the leaders of Bridgend before initiating any hostilities, and no long after it was decided to send a force east to make sure the conditions were met, Bridgend surrendered the stolen property to HurryinGun, without any further bloodshed. Etat De l'Or's Intervention No long after, the Order distanced itself from the conflict, on grounds that Scotland appeared to be hoarding every single good from its breakaway factions, taking advantage of its ally's power to keep them weak on purpose, and the distance involved in intervening in such conflict. Watching from the sidelines, Etat's Empereur, holding a grudge against Scotland, cherished the dismemberment of the faction for it gave him new opportunities, specially after Albion's leadership approached him seeking aid to completely break free from Scotland's threat. In a swift move, Etat reached a diplomatic agreement with the Order, wherein, Etat would be given free reign to ensure Albion's independance on condition that Scotland wouldn't be completely destroyed. In quick order, Etat's forces reinforced Albion's positions on the Scottish landmass, quickly overpowering the other two sides, who remained disorganized due to the recent split. Conclusion and Aftermath Following a tenacious offensive, both Bridgend and Scotland surrendered to Etat's Empereur. Etat De l'Or's victory was complete, both the Scots and Bridgend loyalists were subdued and forced into paying war reparations in the form of labor. Meanwhile, Albion was supported to keep an eye on the rest of Scotland's rump states. Etat's control over the eastern reaches of the World was complete. Scotland's remnants didn't survive long, first Bridgend, then Scotland and Albion would succumb to inactivity as they could no longer find fun in such a quarreling state, and shortly after their activity dropped completely. Etat De l'Or's dominance would continue for a while, until, eventually, its usual restlessness and revisionist nature deteriorated the balance achieved after the culmination of the First Coalition War. Its attack of the Kingdom of Forlorn would eventually trigger a new server wide conflict: the Second Coalition War.